


But for you I kinda want to

by afraidioactivity



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Developing Relationship, Hobak will not be ignored, Hook-Up, M/M, Underage Drinking, ages are slightly changed to fit college setting but that's not really that important probably, cat lover tyunning, fwb au, in fact she's a little bit of the main focus, side yeonbingyu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:47:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27842482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afraidioactivity/pseuds/afraidioactivity
Summary: “You’re the only one she does that with, you know? She won’t come out for anyone else, it makes Soobin-hyung so sad.”Kai seemed pleased by that revelation, grinning down at the cat in his lap and holding one of her paws gently. “Ahh, Hobak likes me the best, huh? I give the best pets huh? Even better than Taehyunnie?”It was a nickname everyone in their friend group used for him, but it felt different when Kai said it. He couldn’t find himself caring that it was done in a teasing tone. He’d given up on letting Hobak know she was a traitor.--or, that one reddit post about developing feelings for their fwb because their cat likes them, but make it tyunning
Relationships: Huening Kai/Kang Taehyun
Comments: 21
Kudos: 170





	But for you I kinda want to

**Author's Note:**

> My friend Dae (who also looked over this fic, thank you for that) showed me a reddit post about a person falling for their fwb because he gets along with their cat. We both laughed and said that would be tyunning and the brainworms took hold.
> 
> With that being said, due to the nature of this prompt, there is implied sexual content in this story. I don't have any intentions of writing explicit content with the two of them, and nothing in this fic goes super far beyond the implications. But I wanted to bring that up for anyone who might be uncomfortable with the subject matter. Please read at your own discretion but as I've said, there is nothing graphic in this story.
> 
> Hobak is a queen and I really just wanted to write a quick little one shot for them, so enjoy.

The bed felt too hot with someone else in it. Taehyun was used to waking up with just the right amount of blankets on top of him, adjusted to his body heat along with the aircon blasting at just the perfect temperature. Right now it was on, but it wasn’t cold enough to account for the long limbs wrapped around his frame, the bigger body nearly on top of him in his twin sized bed. It felt sticky and claustrophobic. He hated it. 

So he sat up, pushing the other off of him despite the sleepy protests and looked around blearily for his phone. He hadn’t plugged it in last night but it was on his nightstand, thankfully not completely dead. He reached past the other, who was still clinging onto sleep despite being pushed to the very edge of the small bed, threatening to teeter onto the floor, and grabbed his phone. It read 11:35 am, later then he would normally be up even with his night owl lifestyle, and there were a couple of unread texts but he hadn’t missed anything major. 

Taehyun wanted to go back to sleep, but it was too hot to get comfortable and he watched as the other seemed to subconsciously feel the same. He had the audacity to kick the comforter off the bed entirely in his sleep, along with one of Taehyun’s pillows. This was going to be an annoying morning. 

It was an effort not to accidentally kick the other boy when he scrambled out of the bed, not that he cared too much if he did at this point. Taehyun cracked his back and shook himself out, stepping into the hallway leading to his kitchen. The call for coffee and to get out of that stuffy room was too strong. He started up his ancient little coffee pot and finally glanced at his phone.

The most recent texts were from Yeonjun, who had seemed a little concerned with his choice to bring someone from the party home with him last night. He appreciated the worry, but he wasn’t a child and at the very least the stranger was a friend of a friend. Taehyun wasn’t even really all that drunk last night, which made the choice to invite a boy to his place even more curious, but it at least kept him alert, ready to kick the weirdo out if he had been a creep. He typed that all up succinctly, making sure to let Yeonjun know that he was all right, yes he used protection, no his hook up wasn’t a freak or a weirdo, yes he was still here but he was going to kick him out once coffee was consumed. 

It wasn’t like he planned on making this a habit. 

Hobak jumped onto the counter, meowing loudly at him. She knew she wasn’t allowed to do that, but when she was hungry, rules stopped applying to her. She practically howled at him, expectantly waiting for food to be poured in her bowl. 

“Oh they’re mad at you,” his bedmate had come into the kitchen now, fully dressed in last night’s clothes, looking frumpy and rubbing sleep from his eyes. 

“She’s overdramatic,” Taehyun rolled his eyes before picking her up and off the counter, setting her on the floor. She let out another howl at him.

“It’s ok, I won’t let him starve you,” his bedmate crouched down, hand extended. Hobak wasn’t mean, but she was wary around strangers. They didn’t spend much time last night introducing this new person to her, but Hobak didn’t seem to mind. She butt her head against his hand, back arching enticingly to get him to continue to pet her. 

Huh. 

“She’s not going to starve,” Taehyun remarked cooly, rattling the food in the plastic cup until Hobak turned her attention to him again. Food always came first, and she happily ran to her bowl. He looked at his visitor, who was still crouched, content with watching Hobak eat like it was the cutest thing in the world. This kid (Kai, his brain supplied helpfully, remembering the long and foreign name Soobin had said by way of introduction last night) wasn’t weird in a bad way, but he was certainly a little strange. It hadn’t stopped Taehyun from sidling up to him and asking if he wanted to come over, though.

It was a bold move, one that Taehyun didn’t really pull off often, but this kid was Soobin’s close friend, he could easily vouch that Kai wasn’t garbage. He was as tall as Soobin, too, and handsome. Taehyun could honestly do worse. He just hoped there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings on what this was: a hook up after a drunken party, fun and totally expected of a college student, but nothing more. He offered Kai a cup of coffee, they made idle small talk as they drank it, and then he promptly kicked the other out. 

* * *

Taehyun had a secure little bubble of close friends. He was always friendly and polite with everyone, had plenty of casual acquaintances, but he kept few truly close. First there was Yeonjun, his oldest friend he had met in school. They met Taehyun’s freshman year, Yeonjun boldly pressing a flier in his hand for some early semester rager at one of the frat houses, even when Taehyun had insisted he wasn’t interested. In retaliation, he walked only a couple of feet away, crumpled the paper and threw it in the nearest recycling bin. He glanced back, expecting Yeonjun to look put out. Instead he laughed, loud and bright as if he was tickled by the younger’s bluntness. They became close after that. 

Yeonjun had been a weird new addition to Taehyun’s fairly standard life. He was the first person to hype up a party but he also kept his grade point average high, and he unashamedly was dating two boys with little care for who knew about his unconventional relationship. That’s how Taehyun met his two other friends, Beomgyu and Soobin, the boyfriends in question. The three of them were gross, but he didn’t judge their relationship. They seemed to make it work.

Then, Soobin introduced someone new to their bubble. A high school friend of his who had transferred into their school. It was at one of those parties Yeonjun liked to promote for that they first met. Kai Kamal Huening, who was a tall kid with a lopsided grin that got wider the more awkward he felt. He was a tree, as tall as Soobin, which only irritated Taehyun more to learn the tree was younger than him. But he was handsome and pushed past his awkwardness to converse with Soobin’s friends, even though one of his arms was still wrapped securely around Soobin’s. 

Yeonjun, four cups of whatever poison they were passing as “punch” deep, declared it was dancing time and dragged Soobin reluctantly onto the make shift living room dance floor. Beomgyu just laughed at the two of them before noticing some friends from his class walking into the kitchen to refresh their drinks. He waved and they waved back, shouting over the noise of the music that he should come join them. Beomgyu looked between Kai and Taehyun, lifted his cup graciously towards them, and promptly dipped. Taehyun realized a little belatedly that they had left him with Kai probably because they expected the two youngest to gravitate to each other because of their age. Jerks. 

Kai looked at Soobin’s tall head sticking out like a sore thumb on the dance floor and Beomgyu’s back as he disappeared into the kitchen. If he felt awkward being left with essentially a stranger, he didn’t let on. Instead he sized Taehyun up, that lopsided grin in place. 

“You know,” he started conversationally, cocking his head towards the hallway. His shaggy hair flopped over his eyes with the motion and Taehyun thought distantly that it was a little bit attractive. “I’ve never actually seen anyone play beer pong before. Wanna check it out?” 

The rest of it was, as they say, history. Taehyun had assessed this new addition to his bubble: best friend of Soobin, newly adopted baby brother to Yeonjun and Beomgyu, and even though he sucked at beer pong, he didn’t seem to mind Taehyun wiping the floor with him. Every missed ball was met with a loud, high pitched laugh, as if his mediocrity at the game was hilarious. It got more hilarious the more he drank. Admittedly, it was becoming funnier the more Taehyun drank too. Sometimes Kai sunk his shot with a triumphant little ‘whoo!’

Taehyun, buzzing with the alcohol in his veins, had taken Kai home that night. 

Now he was nursing another cup of coffee at a cafe, sitting across from a very hungover Yeonjun.

“Do you have to wear those inside?” He snorted. Yeonjun couldn’t just be a hungover college student. He had to play it up as if it were an aesthetic, wrapped up cozy in a fuzzy jacket that hung haphazardly off one shoulder, large heart shaped sunglasses high up on his nose. 

“I will not be taking any lip from someone who is asking me to lie to my boyfriend’s face for them,” Yeonjun took a long, dramatic sip from his iced americano, pulling the stupid sunglasses down just enough to send a judgmental look Taehyun’s way. 

“You make it sound like I’m having an affair,” Taehyun sighed into his coffee, draining it in one gulp. “I just don’t want Soobin-hyung to think I’m some kind of creep to his friends.”

“Well you _did_ sleep with his best childhood friend, who he is very protective of, the first night you met him. And didn’t tell anyone you left with him but me,” Yeonjun didn’t look too upset by the fact he was keeping this secret, though. “Which, bold, Hyunnie, didn’t think you had it in you.” 

Taehyun remembered the way Kai had smiled at him after they were finally pushed aside by other students who wanted to play beer pong. It was warm with all the bodies around them and his skin was glistening, but the shyness had finally left Kai’s grin entirely. Now it was bright, genuine, warm eyes looking into Taehyun’s. 

“Beer pong happened. And then… everything else followed. I didn’t really want to air out my business to everyone I know. It’s college, who cares?”

“Don’t get me wrong, you know I don’t mind. But having to vouch for why Kai was no longer at the party while poor Soobin panicked was hard. Especially with how much I drank,” Yeonjun sniffed, pushing the glasses further up his face. “And you go hooking up with cute boys and don’t even look as hungover as me. Unfair.”

“I wasn’t that drunk. Just buzzed. It wore off by the time I got to my place.”

Yeonjun assessed him, though it was a little hard to tell what he was thinking around the garish shades. He tutted, swirling the ice in his cup. 

“Poor Taehyunnie, you have it that bad huh? Hooking up with a guy you just met when you’re drunk is one thing. You’re telling me you took a boy home basically sober? Do you like him?”

This time Taehyun laughed, sipping from his cup even though it was practically empty. 

“Not really. It was a one time thing.”

* * *

Kai started hanging around them more, and it happened again, a couple weeks later. Embarrassingly, it wasn’t at a large frat party where strong alcohol and loud music fueled rash decisions. Taehyun was sitting on Yeonjun’s couch, sandwiched between Beomgyu and Kai, playing games. He tried to ignore the smug looks Yeonjun was passing his way, lounging on the arm rest of the recliner Soobin was sitting in. Luckily, Soobin was focused on the tv screen, yelling in triumph every time he won a round of Smash, and Kai seemed as casual and bubbly as ever.

“Whoa, Taehyun, you’re good at these games,” Kai’s eyes lit up, leaning into Taehyun’s space. Kai wasn’t just tall, he was broad, and Taehyun felt small next to him. Their shoulder’s bumped, but a side glance confirmed there was nothing necessarily flirty in Kai’s open expression, just the same excited enthusiasm. It was like being near an overgrown puppy. 

“Of course I am,” he said it cooly, eyes still fixed on the screen. The dismissal was supposed to make Kai shrink back a little, but it didn’t seem to have the intended effect. Instead, Kai continued to watch Taehyun play, not seeming to care when he lost spectacularly. He was extremely easy going about it, letting Soobin and even Taehyun smugly gloat every time they won. 

Taehyun didn’t think he would enjoy someone else coming into his comfy bubble, but Kai seemed to fit right in. Of course he and Soobin were close, but the whole group welcomed him in and he got along well. Even when Taehyun’s jokes got a little mean, even when Yeonjun’s competitive streak had him screaming at the screen when Kai’s kart sped past him to get first place. He rolled with the punches, matched everyone’s energy well, and Taehyun didn’t even seem to mind their close proximity now. 

Time passed quickly this way until the late hours of the night. Beomgyu was starting to struggle to keep his eyes open, and Yeonjun started to corral his two boyfriends towards the bedroom to get ready for bed. 

“Don’t worry, hyung,” Kai shook his head, declining Soobin’s offer to let him stay the night on the couch. “I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah,” Yeonjun readily stepped in, draping himself over Soobin’s shoulders and glancing at Taehyun with a little smirk. “Hyunnie can walk him back to the bus stop right? Just text us when you’re home safe.”

They stood together, waiting under a street lamp at the bus stop. Taehyun glanced at Kai. His curly brown hair was pressed down to frame his face softly under his beanie, and he was looking at him with a curious expression. It didn’t give anything away, no expectations or desperation, just a friendly, soft smile that he gave easily. Taehyun fiddled with the sleeve of his coat to give himself something else to look at, before looking down the road for the bus. The road at this time of night was quiet, not a car or person in sight, soft lamplight illuminating the sidewalk. There was no sign of the bus.

He let the silence settle over them, feet shuffling against pavement the only sound. Taehyun glanced down the road again, then at the bus schedule posted on the pole, then at Kai. He bit his lip, face turned away from the other, who seemed content to stand in the silence until it felt deafening. 

He made his decision.

“You know,” he started, quiet in the hush of the neighborhood dark. “My place is actually close by here. If you didn’t want to wait for the bus.”

He didn’t look at Kai, but he could hear the grin when the other spoke up almost instantly. 

“Sure, let’s go.”

They made it to Taehyun’s apartment in a couple minutes. He could have been a better host, could have offered to take Kai’s coat and get him a drink. But the second the door closed behind them, they were on each other, lips pressed against lips, coats being thrown haphazardly aside. They only broke away for a moment so that Taehyun could grab his hand and pull him to the couch. His knees hit the couch and he flopped down a little awkwardly, laughing. Kai laughed too, looking down at him with amusement, until Taehyun grabbed his wrist and tugged him down on top of him. Maybe later he would think about how eager he must look, bordering on desperate to kiss the other breathless. But it wasn’t like Kai was questioning it, mouth eagerly finding Taehyun’s, hands reaching to grab the other’s hips. There was no time for reflection right now.

Hobak liked to sit on the arm of the couch or on the ledge of the window right behind it, close enough to watch but far enough that she could sprint the second a hand went near her when she didn’t want it. When it was just Taehyun, she would join him on the couch, curled up on his lap, contently purring. He would leave out a blanket for her to curl up into during the day when sunlight filtered in and hit the couch just right for an afternoon nap. If guests were over, she didn’t risk jumping onto it. Tonight was an exception. 

Kai leaned in for another kiss and Taehyun closed his eyes, waiting, but instead he felt the other jerk slightly with a startled little squeak. Taehyun opened his eyes, startled, to see Kai looking over his shoulder. Hobak had climbed onto the arm rest, using it to walk up onto the window sill, and tossed herself down on Kai’s back, looking at the two of them curiously. 

“Oh,” Kai giggled, putting one arm awkwardly behind him to scratch at her head. “Hello.”

“What the hell Hobak,” Taehyun groaned. He waited for Kai to slowly sit himself back up so that Hobak could slip off of him onto the couch. Hobak continued to stare at them both until Kai sat down properly with his back against the couch, and she promptly curled up into his lap. 

“She wanted to say hi to me again. Hi, Hobak, how are you?” Kai didn’t seem all that upset that she had interrupted them, happy to scratch behind her ear until she erupted into loud purring. 

“Unbelievable,” Taehyun put his head in his hand. “Sorry.”

“It’s ok,” Kai shrugged, unbothered with the fact that their make out session was interrupted. He seemed perfectly content to just sit there with the cat.

Taehyun felt himself get increasingly more nervous. Last time he had kicked Kai out unceremoniously, had made it clear it was just a one time thing. Now they were here, and if it wasn’t for his stupid cat they would have done exactly what he said wouldn’t happen again. Is it what Kai was expecting? Were they moving too fast?

“We don’t have to do anything, you know that right?” Taehyun looked at him nervously. “You can just sleep if you want. No pressure.” 

Kai gave him a curious look. “I know. I want to kiss you, though, if you want to. Whatever you want to do.”

“Okay,” was Taehyun’s smart response. “Cool.”

“Cool,” Kai giggled. 

They eventually made it to the bedroom, but not until after Hobak got her fill of pets in. 

* * *

The apartment was dark except for the desk light illuminating the scattered paperwork on top of it. Taehyun would pick that up tonight, but right now he was just hungry and didn’t feel like moving out from under his blanket as he huddled up on the couch. Burned out was really the right response for what he felt, but he wasn’t going to acknowledge it. This wasn’t the first time college fatigue had settled over his bones and he knew he would get over it, had to in order to get this project done. But motivation wasn’t happening right now, so he didn’t push it. 

The doorbell rang. He wrapped himself tight in the blanket and stood, not caring that he shuffled awkwardly under its weight to the front door. He opened it and as expected, there was Kai, bag of takeout in his hand. 

“Delivery!” He sang out, raising the bag like it was an invitation in. 

He ended up asking Kai to come over, this time without any pretense that sex would happen. Kai had asked if he was hungry, which he had answered he was. So what? Maybe it really was the burn out getting to him, making him feel weak, making him want this stupid cute boy and his stupid cute smile and take out food. It wasn’t so unnatural, there were plenty of times Yeonjun had invited him over to blow off steam, or Soobin came to him with snacks and movies to binge as they pulled all nighters for school work. It was what _friends_ did, wasn’t it? 

He let Kai in, who squinted at the darkness but didn’t comment, flicking on the side lamp as he sat on the floor right in front of the couch and pulled out containers. Hobak came by immediately, sniffing curiously at the food until Kai gently pushed her away. This was normal, a friend responding to an invitation to come over, deciding to eat dinner together as a reprieve from all the midterms stress. 

“You don’t like soda right? I didn’t know what to get instead so I went a little crazy, sorry,” Kai sounded sheepish, laughing in the nervous way he did sometimes, pulling a couple different soft drinks out of the bag. 

This is what friends did, remembering little things like that. But were they friends? They had never really discussed that around the strict business of kissing each other breathless when they were alone. 

“Thank you,” Taehyun hated how his voice sounded, grateful and maybe a little bit breathy. He plopped down as well, the smell of the food making his stomach rumble, and got to work on taking lids off. 

“You’re welcome,” Kai flashed him a grin, pulling his sleeves down a little as a small shiver ran down his spine. The heat hadn’t kicked on in the building yet, the night chill creeping in through his poorly insulated windows. Taehyun didn’t feel like finding another blanket, so he simply draped part of his over the other’s shoulders and scooted close. It only seemed right with Kai taking the trouble to come all the way over for him with food in tow. 

Hobak still tried to poke her nose into the food until Taehyun picked her up and pushed her onto Kai’s lap under the blanket. She let out a mewl of protest until she realized whose lap she had landed in, immediately curling up with a content little noise. He had a grudging suspicion that would work. 

“How’s your project going?” Kai talked around a mouth full of food. It had come up a little bit last time they had found themselves at Taehyun’s place. It was a convenient excuse to kick Kai out earlier, at least. Taehyun had mostly convinced himself he needed the space to work, that waking up to Kai’s arm around him would be a distraction he didn’t need right now. 

“It’s fine,” it was another one of his dismissive answers, clipped, as he took a sip of his drink. For someone who acted like he was so unsure, Kai had somehow picked up some of his favorite drinks. 

They sat in that awkward silence that followed. Taehyun knew he should be a little more grateful for Kai doing this for him. Doing what any friend would do, and why couldn’t they be friends anyway? Just because they slept together sometimes, he didn’t have to fight the idea of having a nice, friendly relationship. They hung out all the time because of their friend group anyway. He wasn’t sure why the idea of being Kai’s friend made his stomach feel irritated. 

Some part of his brain helpfully supplied the word he refused to accept: _Just_. Just friends. 

But if Kai was off put by the silence, he didn’t show it. Instead he asked if they could put something on while they ate and settled for whatever was on the first channel that came up. It was some old American action flick, halfway through, but they watched it anyway. The silence stopped being so stifling and awkward, smoothing itself into something more calm, a little drowsy. Taehyun had a full belly now, the soft lamp light dousing the living room in an almost hazy glow. The volume was low on the tv, enough that he could hear Hobak purring ferociously when Kai’s hand dipped down to scratch at her exposed belly. 

“You’re the only one she does that with, you know? She won’t come out for anyone else, it makes Soobin-hyung so sad.”

Kai seemed pleased by that revelation, grinning down at the cat in his lap and holding one of her paws gently. “Ahh, Hobak likes me the best, huh? I give the best pets huh? Even better than Taehyunnie?”

It was a nickname everyone in their friend group used for him, but it felt different when Kai said it. He couldn’t find himself caring that it was done in a teasing tone. He’d given up on letting Hobak know she was a traitor. 

He bit his lip, pulling his side of the blanket over his head. On the tv screen, the main actor was leaping daringly from a large building, seemingly unafraid of the plunge. 

“This paper is giving me a headache, honestly,” Taehyun found himself saying, eyes still focused on the screen. “I know I’ll get it done but I’m just tired of looking at it. This whole class rides on one stupid paper and I don’t even want to do it. At all. I keep falling behind and it’s really frustrating, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Kai hummed his acknowledgment, gaze soft as he continued to look down at Hobak wiggling in his lap. Other than that, he didn’t press, and Taehyun felt himself relax a little further. The conversation was low pressure, Kai not pushing him any further than what he was willing to give. He was like that in all ways with him, Taehyun was beginning to realize. When they kissed, when they touched, there was always enthusiasm but never pressure, always waiting for Taehyun to become comfortable enough with him to move forward. For someone who could be so loud and excited, Kai was surprisingly soft at times, in a way that made Taehyun feel comfortable. Comfortable enough to gravitate towards him.

So Taehyun did. He let out a little sigh, letting all the stress of the past week out on the exhale, and let himself slump until his head rested on Kai’s shoulder. The other looked up, blinking a little in surprise, but immediately relaxed so that Taehyun could get settled. A moment later, he allowed his own head to rest against Taehyun’s head. That’s how they spent the rest of the night, watching whatever played on the channel they landed on, huddled under the blanket with Hobak cuddling across their laps.

* * *

“Do you know how hard it is keeping this a secret,” Yeonjun groaned, head falling back against Taehyun’s couch. He caught a glimpse of Hobak eyeing him cooly from where she lounged on the windowsill. 

“It’s not really a secret. It’s just our business.”

“Binnie keeps asking Kai how you two are getting along. He has no idea just how _well_ you are,” Yeonjun reached out longingly to Hobak. She just slunk back, away from his touch and he pulled his hand back with a pout. “And I have to play dumb like I don’t know what’s been happening between you two, which makes _Beomgyu_ suspicious, because you know I get awkward when I have to keep things from them. But if I tell him, I might as well get a megaphone out and tell the whole school. It would amount to the same thing.”

“I appreciate your discretion, hyung,” Taehyun wasn’t really paying attention to Yeonjun, looking at his phone screen with a small smile. The other raised a brow, slowly sitting himself back up.

“What are you even doing?”

Taehyun shrugged. Yeonjun, not feeling satisfied with that answer, tried to snatch the phone away. Taehyun raised it up above his head, away from Yeonjun’s grabby hands. His reflexes were fast, but Yeonjun’s love for meddling made him faster, the phone getting unceremoniously slapped out of Taehyun’s hand and landing safely on the couch, screen up. 

“Are you-?” Yeonjun started before Taehyun tackled him into a headlock, not caring that this was his elder, who was also currently keeping his secret. Right now, all that mattered was grabbing the phone back and putting it safely into his pocket. The dust settled between them as Taehyun shoved the phone as deep into his pocket as it would go, but by the sly curl of Yeonjun’s lips, the damage had all ready been done. 

“You’re texting him,” Yeonjun took a moment to fix his mussed up hair before spreading his arms out over the back of Taehyun’s couch and lounging like he owned it. “And you’re _smiling_.”

“I can’t smile?” Taehyun knew he shouldn’t sound so petulant, but it came out like that anyway. He turned to watch Hobak, who had jumped from the window sill in the chaos to roll on the rug.

“No one smiles like _that_ unless they’re texting someone they really, really like.”

Taehyun felt the denial rise in his throat, quick and desperate to squash whatever assumptions Yeonjun was coming to. He knew it was childish to even worry about being teased, to have to deny something as simple as a crush. 

“Hobak likes him,” is what slipped out instead. It was understandably a little nonsensical without the context, Yeonjun’s mouth opening and closing, whatever snarky comment lost to his confusion. Taehyun tucked his knees up under his chin, eyeing his completely unassuming cat. “She lets him pet her and cuddles with him and I think she might like him more than she likes me.”

“Really?” Yeonjun raised a brow, scooting forward. Hobak must have sensed his eyes on her, and the movement seemed too much like he was trying to reach out to her. She got up and ran off to the kitchen before he could make another move. 

“See?” Taehyun laughed humorously. “She doesn’t do that with _anyone_ else. And when he’s here, he just… hangs out and listens to me. Even if it’s stupid, he listens to me. He doesn’t even push me to talk, but I end up doing it anyway.”

Silence fell between them, which was usually a rarity when there was something one of them got to tease the other about. Yeonjun just watched him and Taehyun didn’t elaborate further, chin on his knee as he waited for his friend to say something.

“Oh, Taehyunnie,” Yeonjun didn’t sound teasing, voice soft, and that somehow made it all worse. “You really, really have it bad, don’t you?”

* * *

Taehyun was developing a headache. Perhaps he needed to take a break, maybe eat something or at least drink a little water. He hadn’t moved from his desk in what felt like hours and when he stretched out his legs, his knees hurt from being stuck in the same position for so long. It would be worth it, he had to remember. Now there was a huge dent in the school work that was piling up, but his head was feeling worse the more he looked at the screen of his computer. 

He glanced at his phone. He had put it on do not disturb so that he could focus but now he was wondering if he should pick it up. Maybe Kai would get him something to eat, maybe he would come over and they could veg out on the couch for a while and Taehyun could complain about how homework was eating him alive. He picked the phone up, glancing at the texts that flashed across the screen: a couple innocuous group chat messages, a news notification, and there at the top, a message from Kai.

It was a simple one, just ‘ _good luck on your work!!_ _ᕙ_ _(`_ ▿ _´)_ _ᕗ_ _hang out after?_ ’

Why was he so damn fond of a stupid emoticon? 

Taehyun let out an annoyed huff, putting his phone back down. Maybe Yeonjun was right. Maybe he did have it kind of, sort of bad if something as simple as a message made his stomach flip. It was, for lack of a better word, frustrating. It was frustrating to want to see Kai right now, frustrating that he had all this work piling up and all he wanted was to watch something stupid on tv, head pressed against Kai’s shoulder. They’d share that same stupid blanket and Hobak would demand their attention, and maybe they would hold hands. He was getting unbelievably soft. 

The words on his computer screen started to float, concentration becoming horribly shot after something as simple as a text. 

“I can’t live like this,” he groaned to no one, head tilting back and looking up at his ceiling. Why did he have to go and develop feelings? Why was this so damn hard to just keep casual? 

His phone was in his hands before he even registered what he was doing, opening up that message from Kai and staring at that stupid emoticon.

The doorbell rang and Hobak’s ears perked up, slinking back into her windowsill perch as she assessed who would come through the door. Taehyun couldn’t fault her for her weariness right now, after all he was feeling a little concerned about the person behind the door himself. But he opened it anyway, face set with a nonchalant look that was completely opposite of his visitor. Kai stared down at him with a bright and easy grin, backpack slung over one shoulder. Taehyun knew what would be inside of it, a change of clothes, a toothbrush, and his own travel soap. He was considerate like that.

“Hi,” Kai said it brightly, in that almost cutesy manner he always threw at Soobin. It should have been annoying but it just felt charming. Everything about him was charming. Taehyun’s palms started to sweat. 

Hobak seemed pleased that it was just Kai, and she chirped happily at him when he casually reached over the couch to pet her, and Taehyun took a steadying breath to calm himself down. It was late, a little after eleven. In a moment of bravery he had texted Kai to come over and as usual, Kai did. He had stopped counting the amount of encounters they had like this a bit ago, but it had become routine. 

When they weren’t busy with school or other social obligations, Kai was usually here, in Taehyun’s bed, and it was clear that was what was expected now. He didn’t even try to make himself comfortable just yet, giving Taehyun a curious look like he always did. Taehyun would smirk, grabbing onto his wrist and tugging him along until they were in the bedroom. He would throw Kai’s backpack recklessly to the side and close the door so that Hobak couldn’t come in and then they would kiss between small talk until they found themselves on the bed, hands seeking and mouths pressed hard against each other’s skin. 

Taehyun didn’t move. He didn’t give any kind of order, really, just watching Kai get more fidgety the longer time passed. Finally, Kai took the initiative into his own hands, placing his backpack down on the couch and moving into Taehyun’s space, hands on the other’s hips as he leaned in for a kiss. Taehyun shook his head softly, pulling away and trying to speak over the harsh beating of his heart. 

“I don’t want to sleep with you,” in his panic, he said it maybe a little harshly, Kai wincing at his tone and immediately backing off.

“Oh,” Kai laughed a little sheepishly, his favorite nervous tick, and shuffled a little on his feet. He was too big to shrink into himself, but it looked like he had wanted to. “That’s cool, I mean we can do whatever-“

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” Taehyun made sure his voice sounded a little softer this time around, though he held his head confidently. It made Kai shrink back even further.

“Are you… cutting me out?” It sounded suspiciously like Kai had wanted to say something else, more aligned with the idea of a break up. Which was absurd, they weren’t dating to begin with, though a voice that sounded suspiciously like Yeonjun’s wanted to point out it almost seemed that way.

“No,” Taehyun shrugged, mouth set in a frown as he worked through what he wanted to say. At some point he had even sat down at his desk to write out everything he wanted to say, but it had genuinely embarrassed him to sit with his thoughts like that, so he scrapped the idea. “I just don’t want… this.”

Kai nodded. He was frowning but he still looked understanding, settling himself down on the couch. Hobak strutted over to butt her head against his softly, but his eyes were focused on Taehyun.

“That’s ok,” he fiddled with his hands in his lap, clearing his throat. “I mean, I still want to be friends so if that’s all, we can just stop this part of it.”

He gestured between the two of them vaguely. 

Taehyun squinted at him. “Is that all? You’re ok with that?”

“I just want to be your friend,” Kai said it quietly. “I mean I like this too but I don’t _need_ to do this, you know?”

“Just friends,” Taehyun laughed quietly to himself, feeling his stomach twist. This was a possibility, he had reminded himself, that Kai wouldn’t be interested in him outside of the bedroom. That Kai just wanted something easy and simple and would regard Taehyun as a friend of a friend that was tolerable enough to have around in a social setting. “I don’t think I want to be your _friend_ Kai.”

That made Kai stand up, which made Hobak retreat behind a curtain in alarm. Taehyun realized he had never seen the other like this. There was usually a grin or a laugh or a way to dispel the tension in everything that Kai did, but right now he just looked _hurt_ , and Taehyun’s gaze dropped to the floor so that he wouldn’t have to see it any longer.

“Why not? What did I do?” It was the closest Kai’s tone had ever gotten _demanding_. 

“You didn’t do anything,” Taehyun rolled his eyes, even though he knew it was childish. He couldn’t care because he didn’t want to back down now that his mind had been set. He had fretted over it enough since Yeonjun was over, had worried that he wouldn’t have the guts to have this conversation. Hell, he had spur of the moment asked Kai to come over tonight while he was still feeling brave and ready to tackle this. It wouldn’t be right for him to chicken out now. “I just don’t think I can be friends with someone I _like_ this much. But I can’t just sleep with you either. I need… I don’t know, I need to get over it before you can ask me to do that.”

“Get over what?”

“Us, this,” Taehyun copied Kai’s vague hand gesture from earlier. “I don’t want to just sleep with you. I don’t want to just be friends.”

There was a moment of silence, the two of them just staring at each other. Taehyun was afraid for a moment that he would have to just up and say it. _I like you, I’ve basically liked you since the first day I met you. This has been, embarrassingly, not just a casual hook up for me even though I wanted it to be_. He looked into Kai’s eyes, hoping for understanding, the younger tilting his head slightly to give him a quizzical look. 

And then Kai broke out into an explosively loud laugh. It made Taehyun flinch a little at the sudden noise, even though he was used to it. Hobak didn’t look very pleased either, hair raised as she glared at the two of them. 

“I don’t know why you think this is funny,” Taehyun’s voice lowered into something more icy. He had no interest in his feelings being laughed at.

“No, no, sorry,” Kai waved his hand, the other covering his mouth as if to keep any more laughter at bay. “I’m not laughing at you! I’m just-I’m happy Taehyunnie!” 

Taehyun’s face soured further in his confusion. Kai noticed and stepped forward, taking the other’s hands and holding them tightly when he tried halfheartedly to pull away.

“I didn’t know you liked me like that!” Kai continued, squeezing Taehyun’s hands in his. “So I’m happy!”

“Congratulations?” Taehyun’s confusion just made Kai grin harder, though it came out a little sly now. That was an expression he had never seen on Kai before. Maybe hanging out with Yeonjun was rubbing off on him.

“I’ll go on a date with you, Hyunnie,” Kai grinned down at him. “Wherever you want.”

It was a simple statement. That didn’t stop heat from traveling up Taehyun’s neck. He pulled his hands out of the other’s grasp, and this time Kai let him go. 

“Who said anything about that?” 

“You like me,” Kai said in way of an answer. His grin had turned soft again, eyes focused on Taehyun’s face in a way that didn’t help the heat he felt there.

Taehyun side eyed him. “So?”

“And I like you,” it sounded so simple coming from him, as obvious a fact as saying water was wet. “So we should go on a date. Duh.”

Yeah. Duh. It was simple except for the fact that Taehyun’s head was spinning a little. 

“You want to be my boyfriend? It isn’t just sex?”

Now it was Kai’s turn, a soft pink blushing his cheeks. “I mean I kind of thought that was the only reason you wanted to hang out with me, which, whatever, I liked it. But I never really wanted just that, you know?”

Taehyun nodded. The silence between them was much more comfortable now as they looked over each other, assessing. Hobak finally felt bored just watching them, jumping down to the ground so that she could rub herself all over Kai’s legs.

“Like I said before, you’re the only other person she does that to,” Taehyun supplied, and that seemed to please Kai, who knelt down to scratch under her chin. 

“So this was,” Kai looked up at him with a dramatic flip of his hair, eyebrows waggling. “Destiny.”

“Oh my god, shut up,” Taehyun couldn’t help a fond grin, even as he gave Kai an exasperated look. He stepped forward, grabbing the fabric of the other’s shirt and hauling him up, even as Hobak protested. “This is where you’re supposed to kiss me, not the cat.”

* * *

The ice cream parlor was slow on a Tuesday early afternoon, so finding a booth wasn’t really a problem even with all five of them squishing into it. Beomgyu, Yeonjun and Soobin shoved themselves onto one bench, comfortable in their closeness, leaving Kai and Taehyun to comfortably sit on the other side, facing them. Even with all the extra space, they sat close together, thighs touching. 

“Any weekend plans?” Soobin said around a large mouthful of ice cream. His question was mostly directed to Kai and Taehyun, he didn’t need to wonder what his two boyfriends were doing, usually. “You can come over if you want, we’re going to do a movie marathon.”

He meant Yeonjun’s apartment, big and comfortable enough to fit all five of them. No one ever batted an eye at him acting like he owned the place, inviting people to hang out there. 

“Can’t,” Taehyun gave him an apologetic smile, shrugging a little. 

“Yeah, sorry, hyung,” Kai chimed in, patting Soobin’s hand across the table. “Next time?”

Soobin looked a little miffed. “You’re busy too? Really?”

“Aww, hyungie can’t get used to not having me around, huh?” Kai batted his eyes at Soobin, who scrunched his nose up at him. “But me and Taehyunnie are busy.”

He grabbed Taehyun’s hand and held it in his lap. Taehyun allowed it, but he kept his gaze on his ice cream as he spoke.

“We’re going on a date so,” he let it trail off there, silence settling over the table so quiet that he could hear Yeonjun choke a little on his milkshake. 

Soobin’s eyes went wide, dropping his spoon. “You’re _what_?” 

“A _date?_ ” Beomgyu chimed in, face mirroring Soobin’s shock. Yeonjun snorted.

His boyfriends’ heads whipped around to him. Yeonjun tried desperately to look away before they could look into his eyes, but it was clear he had been caught, shrugging a little as his face turned pink. 

“What?” He tried to look less like a deer caught in some headlights. “Of course I knew they were hooking up, wasn’t it obvious?”

“ _Hooking up_?”

Taehyun bit his lip to suppress a grin. Whether they brought up any of the other details of how they got here, they’d have to decide another time. For now he was content to just interlock their fingers under the table, enjoying watching his flustered boyfriend try to defend himself. 


End file.
